The present invention relates to a video image edit device, and more particularly, to such device suitable for editing video images picked up by a video camera.
For editing video images picked up by a video camera, pickup date and time, etc., those recorded in a video tape together with the video image are conventionally used as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. Hei 10-32783. FIG. 10 shows a recording region of the video tape 11. The recording region includes a video image recording region 12, an audio recording region 13 and a subordinate code region 14 for recording various data.
Typical data to be recorded in the subordinate code region 14 are image pickup date and time information, tape position information to be utilized for video editing, and a time code information indicative of a total reproducing period from a reference position. The date and time information and the time code information are recorded in the subordinate code region of the video tape 11 concurrently with the recordation of video image and audio information in the video tape 11.
Regarding date and time information, continuous date and time information are recorded in the video tape during continuous pickup by using a calendar/clock function provided in a video camera. However, once the image pick up is stopped, and then is re-started, date and time information recorded in the vide tape becomes discontinuous from the date and time of the precedent clip.
Regarding the time code information, a video device retrieves a time code information with respect to the precedent recording at the present video tape position, and records a subsequent time code in the video tape during subsequent image pick up operation. Accordingly, the time codes are recorded in a manner of hour:minute:second; frame as a continuous absolute time. Incidentally, the video device referred herein is one of the video camera and a video deck. More specifically, in NTSC type television image signals, 30 image frames are displayed within one second. The image data are recorded in the video tape in a mode of 30 frames per one second. The time code including the frame information is recorded as a tape position information.
In order to cut the video image in the video tape, a discontinuous point of the date and time information is detected from the continuously picked up video image, and determines the discontinuous point as the cut point of the video image.
FIG. 11 is a view for description of a cut point of the video image content. While the video tape carrying picked up video images runs in a tape feed or forward direction indicated by an arrow, date and time information is successively retrieved for monitoring the discontinuity of the date and time information. During the detection, a discontinuous point AB can be detected as shown in FIG. 11 which is the ending point of the video image content A, that is, date and time information of xe2x80x9cAug. 27, 1999, 10:32:20xe2x80x9d, and the starting point of the video image content B, that is, date and time information of xe2x80x9cAug. 27, 1999, 12:10:10xe2x80x9d. If the difference between the end point and the starting point is greater than a predetermined time period (hereinafter simply referred to as a xe2x80x9cdiscontinuous margin time periodxe2x80x9d which could be 1 second as a minimum resolution), this point xe2x80x9cABxe2x80x9d is determined as the discontinuous position, and a time code of xe2x80x9c00:10:00;10xe2x80x9d is obtained as a cut point time code.
Then, another discontinuous point xe2x80x9cBCxe2x80x9d is detected as shown in FIG. 11 which is the ending point of the video image content B, that is, date and time information of xe2x80x9cAug. 27, 1999, 12:15:10xe2x80x9d, and the starting point of the video image content C, that is, date and time information of xe2x80x9cAug. 28, 1999, 10:03:10xe2x80x9d. The point xe2x80x9cBCxe2x80x9d is determined as another discontinuous position, and a time code of xe2x80x9c00:15:00;10xe2x80x9d is obtained as another cut point time code. The start point time code and end point time code of the video image content B will become cut point information for the video image content B.
In the above described process, if a video pick up is continuously performed for a long period or if the discontinuous margin time period is set greater than a period during which image pick up operation is temporarily suspended, a resultant video image content cut-out by the cut point information will have a long reproduction period.
Video image contents stored in a multi media optical disk typically represented by DVD (digital versatile disk) are read out by a manipulation of a button on a menu displayed on a display device, so that a selected content is reproduced or played. If each content has excessively long play, a searching function, which is the typical function in DVD will be degraded, and the resultant multimedia optical disk may provide a lower handling ability.
In order to avoid this problem, various editing operation have been proposed. For example, a relatively long period video image content is searched, and the searched content is subdivided into a plurality of contents. More specifically, according to the conventional editing operation, reproducing period of each video image content is computed based on start point time code and end point time code those serving as cut point information of all cut out video image contents. Then, a video image content which is deemed to be long period content is searched by checking each reproducing period of each video image content. Then, start point time code and end point time code are newly set in order to subdivide the searched long period content into a plurality of video image contents. If the end of the video image content is to be in conformance with the image pick up end position, the searched long period video content is reproduced to acknowledge the end position, and a time code at the end position is recorded, and then the above described subdivision is performed. Such conventional editing operation requires much labor and is time consuming.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a video image edit device capable of efficiently editing a long period video image content into short period video image contents.
This and other objects of the present invention will be attained by an improved video image edit device for editing at least one video image content among a plurality of video image contents those recorded on a recording medium. The recording medium also records thereon time information indicative of data of time at which image pick up operation is performed for recording the video image content into the recording medium, and data of total reproducing period indicative of a recording position of the recording medium. The device includes a storage device, a judging device, a subdivision determination device, and a subdivision device. The storage device stores data of present total reproducing period and data of present time information with respect to the present video image content, data of precedent time information, data of total reproducing period information with respect to a start point of a video image content to be edited, and a maximum video image content period. The judging device judges a discontinuity when a difference between the present time and the precedent time exceeds a predetermined level. The subdivision determination device determines a necessity of subdivision if the judging device judges a continuity and if a difference between a present total reproducing period and a total reproducing period at the start point exceeds the maximum video image content period. The subdivision device subdivides the video image content to be edited if the subdivision judgment device judges the necessity.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an improved video image edit device including a storage device, a judging device, a subdivision determination device, and a subdivision device. The recording medium records thereon the above described information. The storage device stores data of present time information with respect to a present video image content, data of precedent time information, data of time information with respect to a start point of a video image content to be edited, and a maximum content period. The judging device judges a discontinuity when a difference between the present time and the precedent time exceeds a predetermined level. The subdivision determination device determines a necessity of subdivision if the judging device judges a continuity and if a difference between a present time and a time at the start point exceeds the maximum content period. The subdivision device subdivides the video image content to be edited if the subdivision judgment device judges the necessity.
In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a video image edit program storage medium for editing at least one video image content among a plurality of video image contents those recorded on a recording medium, the recording medium also recording thereon time information indicative of data of time at which image pick up operation is performed for recording the video image content into the recording medium, and data of total reproducing period indicative of a recording position of the recording medium. The storage medium contains a program of storing data of present total reproducing period and data of present time information with respect to the present video image content, data of precedent time information, data of total reproducing period information with respect to a start point of a video image content to be edited, and a maximum video image content period, a program of judging a discontinuity when a difference between the present time and the precedent time exceeds a predetermined level, a program of determining a necessity of subdivision if the judging program judges a continuity and if a difference between a present total reproducing period and a total reproducing period at the start point exceeds the maximum video image content period, and a program of subdividing the video image content to be edited if the judging program judges the necessity.
In still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a video image edit program storage medium. The storage medium contains a program of storing data of present time information with respect to a present video image content, data of precedent time information, data of time information with respect to a start point of a video image content to be edited, and a maximum content period, a program of judging a discontinuity when a difference between the present time and the precedent time exceeds a predetermined level, a program of determining a necessity of subdivision if the judging program judges a continuity and if a difference between a present time and a time at the start point exceeds the maximum content period, and a program of subdividing the video image content to be edited if the subdivision judgment program judges the necessity.
According to the present invention, a long play video image content can be efficiently and easily edited into a plurality of video image contents of desired period, and the present invention is available for a system which does not provides a total reproducing period information.
The present invention is particularly available for an information generating system for recording moving picture information and audio information contained in a video tape onto a multimedia optical disk such as a DVD as described in a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/536,690 filed Mar. 28, 2000, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. That is, the video image editing process (process of detection of a cut point of a moving picture image) according to the present invention can be incorporated into a scenario information input process in the information generating system of the co-pending U.S. Patent application. According to the detection process, a start position and end position of one unit moving picture(video content) recorded in the video tape are extracted with a time code, and the extracted information is displayed on a display for notification to an operator. Based on the displayed time code information, the operator inputs desired start position and end position of the moving picture as an information to be listed in a video image time position information list into an input format displayed as a result of execution of the scenario information input program.
With the above process, scenario information is generated, and the generated scenario information is converted to an information to be recorded in the multimedia optical disk such as DVD in accordance with the method described in the co-pending U.S. Patent Application.
The above described storage device, judging device, subdivision determination device, and subdivision device are provided by a CPU of a computer in combination with an appropriate programs with which the CPU operates. Instead, a plurality of separate chips can be prepared for the respective devices and can be electrically connected together.